


ocean eyes [l.s]

by lou_bear91



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Football, Football | Soccer, M/M, Mutual Pining, harryandlouis, larry stylinson - Freeform, louisandharry, what else do people write here?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28854333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lou_bear91/pseuds/lou_bear91
Summary: Harry's bad behaviour, partying and bad grades lead his parents to send him off to a boarding school in hopes that he'll change.Will Harry's new friends lead him further astray or will he help him turn over a new leaf?
Relationships: Larry Stylinson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. ~one~

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a work of complete fiction. Never happened, not real, no offense is intended. Absolutely does not reflect upon the real life people mentioned in this fictional story. The story, and its characters, belong to me.
> 
> Content warning: mentions of mild drugs and alcohol

**A/N: heavily inspired by one direction fratboy era and billie** **eilish** **\- ocean eyes. enjoy loves. x**

******

Harry was sitting in the last class of the entire school week, eyes flitting impatiently between the analog clock on the worn out pale classroom wall and the boring historical documentary shown on an old TV screen about French Revolution. It's not that he was too opposed to History. But they've been through this subject two years in a row and he's already passed an exam on it. Surely there are more urgent issues going on in the world they could include in the books instead of repeating stuff year after year.

He stifled a huge yawn and sighed deeply instead, his gaze wandering outside the window lazily, the toe of his shoe tapping against the foot of the desk.

"Cut it out, Harry." his desk mate hissed venomously. Harry decided to ignore him and shot a bored glance at the clock again out of habit, feeling desperate to leave.

Finally, the bell showed some mercy, the shrill ringing making Harry's heart jump in his chest. He grabbed his binder from the desk and held it to his chest tightly, while he tossed his backpack over his other shoulder and rushed out of the classroom. He ignored his classmates calls and pats on his back, only giving them half-hearted smiles; and headed straight out to the hallway, keeping his head down and pushing past the people crowded across the hallway in groups who were chatting excitedly about their plans over the weekend and gossiping about their latest crushes and teachers.

As soon as Harry reached the exit, he pushed the heavy oak-wood door out of his way and breathed in the fresh air of freedom that hit his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the soft September sun stroke his eyelids and cheekbones, the sight draft of the wind ruffling his curls. His moment of bliss was interrupted by a bunch of his friends pouring out of the door, laughing loudly at something.

"Hey, Harry! See you at the party later?" Scott shouted, his arm hanging lazily across a girl's shoulder who was a year higher than them.

"Yeah, sure." Harry answered distractedly, declining a call from mother dearest, landing it in the missed calls section along with 5 others.

A second later his screen lit up again, mum's name flashing across the screen. _**Home. Now. Urgent family meeting.**_

Harry groaned internally. What _now_? Best get it over with though, the sooner he'll be able to get ready for the party. He looked up from his phone to ask something from Scott, but he'd just about missed the whole group. He sighed and headed home.

Harry didn't purposely get into trouble. He was just a shit magnet. Wherever he was, trouble seemed to follow. Most parties he went to, ended with police raids or he'd get caught sneaking home from a party, smelling strongly of weed and alcohol.   
He wasn't a bad kid. The complete opposite, actually. He just liked to party, just like everyone else in his friends group.   
He passed most of his classes at school, except for a couple. But that wasn't enough to please his stepfather, Robin.   
Harry knew Robin just wanted the best for him, but he couldn't help losing his temper around the man.

******

Harry was sitting across the table from his mum and stepdad; boring a hole into the desk with his eyes, brows furrowed, the corners of his lips turned downwards. He started chewing the inside of his bottom lip and crossed his arms on his chest, huffing.

"Harry, honey. We're doing this because we care about you. We're genuinely worried about you and where you are headed in life if you continue this way," his mother, Anne, rationalised softly.

"What are you even talking about, mum? I'm seventeen. You're about to send me off to a boarding school for acting like a normal teenager?" Harry said, raising his voice in exasperation.

"Don't raise your voice at your mother, kid," his stepfather boomed.

Harry jumped up from his chair, knocking it over in the action. It was an accident, but he knew he was about to get shit for it anyway.

"Do you see what we mean?! You're acting out!" Robin bellowed again "You're spiraling. Do you understand that if you continue with the partying, you're going to end up homeless with no views on a successful future and a needle stuck in your vein."

"What the _fuck_?! What the _actual_ fuck? Mum, are you hearing the shit coming out of his mouth?" Harry stared at his mum, mouth hanging open, eyes wide with shock and bewilderment.

"Language!"

"We're so worried about you, please understand. Your grades are dropping. You're partying every weekend for two days in a row, missing family time. You dropped singing lessons. You don't have any extracurriculars. This will not look good on any university application! We want you to succeed in life," Anne explained, reaching over the table to take Harry's hand in hers. Harry yanked his hand out of her grasp and just about missed the look of hurt that washed over her face.

Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and ran a hand through his chestnut curls.

"You do realise how much pressure you are putting on me? Maybe that's exactly why I'm the way I am? I can't deal with 8 hours of school a day, 6 hours of extracurriculars a week _and_ homework _and_ a job _and_ maintaining a social life. Maybe I just want to be a normal teenager?"

"We're not discussing this any further. You're going. Starting Monday," Robin concluded firmly, ending the conversation.

Harry threw a disappointed glance at his mother for not siding with him. He turned on his heels and stomped out of the living room into his bedroom down the hall and slammed his door shut for emphasis. He threw himself on the bed, fishing his phone out of the back pocket of his skinny jeans, shimmying on the bed a little.

 _hope you're all stocked up on Mary Jane and beer, mate. need to be_ _shitfaced_ _tonight. parents are being a pain in the arse_

He typed out angrily to Scott and his phone flew out of his hands when Robin barged in, slamming the door into the wall. Harry spun around, scrambling into a vertical position on the bed, looking startled.

"You're grounded until Monday. Your mother is crying in the other room right now."

"Whatever," Harry stated stubbornly with an eye roll and pushed himself off the bed. He realised how childish he was acting, but he couldn't care less what Robin thought of him. He headed to the kitchen to fix himself some dinner, shoving past his stepdad and knocking into him on purpose.

Once in the kitchen, he also put the kettle on, deciding to make some chamomile tea for his mum. He felt sorry for her. She seems brainwashed and like she can't stand up for herself, or Harry, for that matter. But Harry couldn't be mad at her. He knows how powerful Robin could be. Harry's just stubborn and that's what's saving him from the mind games he's stepfather is trying to play with the whole family. Robin's already driven Gemma away, Harry's big sister. She studied so hard to get away from him and now she's in New York, studying fashion and never visiting and rarely calling. Sometimes just sending an occasional text message to check in.

Harry's train of thought was interrupted by the screeching kettle on the stove. He moved it away from the fire and threw a teabag into his mother's favorite mug, pouring the steaming water over it. He added a generous amount of honey and mixed it all together. He carefully made his way to her office and knocked quietly, hearing her muffled call from inside. Yep, definitely crying. Harry's heart tightened a little in his chest as he opened the door with a guilty look on his face.

"I bought you some tea," he said, his voice raspy and slow.

Anne looked up at him, wiping tears and sniffling quietly. She blew her nose in a tissue.

"Thank you, Harry."

He took a few careful steps forward and placed the mug on her desk.

"Look... I'm sorry for swearing. And shouting. But I mean what I said. "

Anne sighed shakily, reaching for the mug and blowing on the steaming beverage.

"He just wants the best for you."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but closed it after a thought. She was too fragile. And he was here to apologise, after all.

"He hasn't got children of his own. He'd love for you to work at the firm, maybe take over in the future, you know." Anne explained softly "You're like a son to him. Harry, he's raised you for years. He really does care about you."

Harry disagreed with her in his mind. He walked around the table, placing his hand on Anne's shoulder and squeezed it gently. She stood up and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you. Please, do this for us."

"Fine." Harry squeezed through his teeth. "For _you_." He kissed his mother's tear stained cheek and headed out.

He decided to shower and clean his room.

******

It was already 11pm when Harry's finished sorting out his closet and finally heard his parents going to sleep.

He looked at his phone. He'd received a bunch of missed calls and messages, the last a rather incoherent one from Scott.

**_WHERE you at, lad? Saved you some of the good shit. Hurrrry Harrrehhh! Heh heh, that rhymed. Look at me, a poet._ _xxxxxxxx_**

Harry managed to decipher the message. _Omw_. He typed out quickly.

He opened the door to his now neatly sorted closet and pondered over what he should wear. He decided to go for a tight black button down with white love hearts all over it and black skinny jeans. Also, some brown Chelsea boots to finish the look. He was aware of the bold choice of clothing, but couldn't care less. He ran his fingers through his curly mess of a hair and listened intently for any sounds around the house. Everything had fallen silent, except for Dusty; their cat, who was softly purring in the corner of his room. His mum and Robin were definitely asleep, though.

He opened his bedroom door with a quiet click and tiptoed to the front door through the house and sneaked out. He'd done this many times. And every time he'd gotten grounded, he'd sneaked out anyway, receiving a shitstorm from Robin in the morning. He'd already mentally prepared himself for another one in the morning. Now he's just looking forward to the weed and beer. An endless amount of beer, until he can't remember shit.

******

Harry entered his mate's house.

It was pretty bad. The music was loud, people shouting and jumping into the pool in the backyard. Some parts of the house looked thrashed and the floor was littered with plastic cups and empty beer bottles. Couples and hook-up's making out in almost every corner and some people were even dancing on tables. Some seem to have consumed a lot more than just some beer and weed. It looked like a house party gone wrong. Like too many people had spread the word around. A pang of remorse washed over Harry for his friend, who'd have to deal with all the cleaning up afterwards. And his parents will definitely find out about the not-so-subtle get together he'd initially planned with just some of his course mates. There was no chance the neighbours wouldn't tell on him.

Harry walked around the house, trying to locate his group of friends, dodging some overeager girls who tried to hook themselves onto his neck.

He finally found them at the garden house. Scott was asleep on top of some girls, a happy smile spread across his face. Whatever he's dreaming about, must be good.   
Harry located Jack, the guy who's party it was in the first place.

"Hey, what happened here?" Harry asked, pointing a thumb towards the main house.

"I dunno, word got around too fast. I think my parents might actually kill me this time," Jack said, pulling his hands over his buzz cut in desperation. He seemed somewhat sober. Harry accepted a can of beer and a joint from him, feeling grateful.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm about to be shipped off to boarding school for _bad behaviour,_ " Harry retorted with an eyeroll, lighting his joint and taking a slow drag.

"No kidding?!" Jack replied, shaking his head slowly, looking genuinely sad for Harry. He gave Harry a pat on the shoulder and was about to say something when they both turned their heads towards the house, hearing screaming and a lot of noise.

"Oh what on _earth_ is going on now? I bet my neighbours have alerted my parents. I'm so dead. Welcome to my funeral," Jack despaired and gulped visibly.

Harry, feeling the pressure of the week, was already as high as a kite from smoking the joint. His eyes looked around lazily and he tried to say something, but he was interrupted.

" _POLICE! IT'S THE POLICE!_ " A half naked, soaking wet, blonde girl Harry's never seen before, ran past and shouted.

Harry cussed under his breath, apologising quickly to Jack and tried to make a run for it before getting arrested, but ran flat into an officer's chest.

_Shit fuck shit fuck damn fuck shit._

"Evening, gentlemen. Could I kindly ask for your document? And who's party's this?"

"Mine." Jack admitted from behind.

Everyone in the small room looked like a bunch of deer caught in the headlights.

"It blew up... "

"Yes, we can see that. We need everyone's documents. Starting with you, young lad," the officer looked at Harry pointedly, who looked visibly uncomfortable now.

"I don't have mine on me," he mumbled quietly.

"Well, then, you're coming with us and a bunch of others. We're calling your parents to pick you up at the station."

"Great. Sounds like fun," Harry muttered under his breath.

He was joined by all the people who didn't manage to escape. Jack's parents obviously got notified and were already on their way down.

Harry got crammed to the back of a police bus, along with a lot of his friends and some strangers. This _had_ to be the worst day of his entire existence.

******

Harry was frantically scanning through his whole contact list in his head for any acquaintances that would be of age and willing to lie that they’re his family. He was coming up with none so far and his anxiety grew, making him chew at the corners of his lips nervously. He was positive that Robin would come up with some rather sadistic ways to punish him. _Military school, maybe? Instead of boarding school._ Harry was staring off into space, absent-mindedly pulling his bottom lip between his index finger and thumb when he suddenly felt a nudge to his side. He turned his attention to the person next to him and grazed his teeth over the corner of his mouth nervously.

“Dude, you look baked…” they stated.

 _Well that’s just great, innit._

“Like a cake,” Harry replied distractedly, making the whole bus full of people burst out with laughter. Yeah, he was quite the popular one.

That’s when the bus stopped and the door got pulled open. They were taken in to the station and put sitting in a line. Harry sat at the end of it and tried to put off having to call his parents for as long as he could. Much to his disappointment, the line moved on pretty quick.

Finally, it was Harry’s turn. He dialed his mum’s number slowly. She answered almost momentarily, as if she’d know he’d call.

“Hello?“

“Hi, mum. Um, I was at a friend’s house and now I’m sort of at the police station… “ Harry said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

He heard his mother sigh.

“Yeah. Jack’s parents called. Said you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m coming.”

“Uh, mum…? Could you- could you not, like, tell Robin? Please? Unless he knows already...”

His mum was quiet for an excruciatingly long moment.

“Yeah. Don’t worry honey, Robin’s asleep. I’m coming.”

Harry sighed in relief and hung up.

He didn’t know what he owed Jack for asking his parents to do that for him. And he was in no place to be doing _anyone_ any favours anyway, since it was Jack's house that got trashed. But Harry was so grateful. So for now, he decided to type out a message.

_your parents saved my arse and I’ve a hunch it’s your doing. I guess I just wanted to say, thank you. means a lot. hope you’re not in too much trouble._

His phone buzzed in his hand almost instantly after pressing send.

**‘ _s okay. I’m sad you’re leaving, it’s the least I could do. My parents are trying to find the person who invited all the strangers and we’re trying to get everyone’s names. I’m not in too much trouble._**

Harry smiled, he was glad. _Good_. He typed and that’s when his mum arrived.

******

The ride home was a bit awkward. His mum kept throwing glances at him while driving. Also, he was feeling the munchies coming in.

“Can we drive to McDonald’s?“ he blurted out.

Anne snapped her head his way and her mouth was hanging open.

“Harry, are you _high_??” she squinted her in the darkness of the car, trying to see his eyes better.

“Mm… maybe?” Harry replied innocently with a sheepish grin.

Anne sighed and made a u-turn. Harry realised she was actually driving to maccies.

A wide smile spread across his face as he looked at his mother, revealing a dimple.

“I love you.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re under the influence,” Anne stated, reversing into a parking space and stopping the engine. She looked at him for a long moment and suddenly they both dissolved into laughter. “I can’t believe I just picked you up from a police station while you were high and they said nothing. And now we’re here.”

“Yeah. Surreal. Can we go now? ‘m famished,” Harry stepped out of the car and headed to the restaurant, Anne following behind.

Once inside, his mother once again looked at him incredulously as he was stating out his order.

“Can I please get a big mac, two double cheese burgers and then an oreo mcflurry, please? And a coke. Oh. Extra fries!“ he looked at his mum with a sheepish grin “I love fries. And a milkshake too, please! Sorry, did you want anything?“

Anne shook her head slowly and hid a smile. “You’re eating for the two of us.”

A wide grin spread across Harry’s face, “I’m a growing organism.”

It was a warm night and Anne drove them to their favourite park they often visited when Harry and Gemma were little. They sat on the hood of the car, Harry eating his food and Anne looking at the stars.

They were there a couple of hours, the sun was starting to rise slowly.

“Remember that family trip to Spain? You and Gemma were like fish in the pool. I couldn’t get you out and your fingers and toes were all wrinkly, like prunes, when you finally did get tired of playing.”

“Happy times,” Harry replied, smiling fondly. They’d been remembering old times and didn’t even notice the time.

“We should head back,” Harry said, shivering slightly. He’d sobered up and now he just wanted the comforting warmth and softness of his bed.

“Yeah, you’re right. Robin will be waking up soon and we wouldn’t want to have to explain our little adventures to him, would we?”

Harry got in the car, buckling up and appreciating the warmth inside. Anne started the car and headed home.

“Mum? I really _am_ sorry, about everything. My behaviour. And tonight. But I’m glad we did this, I've really missed spending one-on-one time with you.”

“If you’re trying to worm your way out of going to boarding school by being fake nice to me, it’s not working.” Anne teased.

“Damn it.” Harry muttered, feigning disappointment, but then his expression changed and he looked at his mother seriously “No, genuinely. I love you. And I’ve missed us. And I’m going on Monday.”

Anne nodded. “I love you too, Haz. It’s going to be okay.”

“But I won’t be working at Robin’s firm.” Harry finished. And they both laughed a little.

******


	2. ~two~

Harry spent all of Saturday packing his belongings into cardboard boxes. He carried the boxes outside where Robin was cramming them inside their SUV.

As he was starting classes on Monday, he’d asked to be there before just to get settled in and get used to the surroundings and the school building.

“I think that’s the last one,” he said, wiping sweat off his forehead and fixed the bandana that was tied in his messy curls.

“Okay, I’ll get your mother. I guess you’ll be good without me, right?”

“Thanks,” Harry replied awkwardly, not sure what to say “I guess I won’t be coming home every weekend, since Fleetwood’s quite a trip away on the train.”

“Yeah, we can always visit. We’ll miss you around, kid,” Robin patted Harry on the back before heading towards the house.

“Sure you will,” Harry muttered with a hint of sarcasm Robin didn’t catch on to. That’s when his mother came outside, looking like she’d been crying a bit.

“I was just looking at your room,” she explained, wiping her nose into a tissue “it looks so empty.”

Harry put his long arm around her small shoulders and gave her a squeeze, pulling her into his side.

“When did you get so _big_?“ she wondered, looking up at him and patting his chest “Okay, best be off.”

Harry gave Robin, who was still hovering on the front porch of their house, a quick hug and waved his hand just before getting in the passengers seat.

******

It was an hour and a half long drive up towards the coast to Fleetwood. Harry had never been there but, from what his mother was telling him, it sounded beautiful. He was already looking forward to going for a walk around in the surroundings of the school.

The GPS said 2 minutes as they started to drive up an alley, fringed by large and ancient looking oak trees all growing in a neat row by the road. Harry caught a glimpse of the school at the end of the alley. It was a scenic view, one you’d see in movies. The buildings were made of red brick, laced with ivory bricks around the windows. As they drove closer, Harry realised just how big the school was. It consisted of various buildings, forming a square with probably a courtyard in the middle. The entrance had two pointed towers and there was an archway leading into the courtyard. The walls were covered in luscious dark purple and green grapevines on some parts of the building.

Harry realised his mouth was hanging open as he was taking in the surroundings in astonishment. He didn’t want to know how much money Robin had to pay for the school as a wave of guilt washed over him.

Robin had his own law firm, but he was struggling a bit to find big clients. He parted ways with his former business partner years ago and after that, he lost many big and important clients and never seemed to succeed in gaining new ones. His mum wasn’t currently working, only helping Robin at the firm with bookkeeping, so it wasn’t like he was from a rich family or something. He didn’t think his parents could really afford for him to be this cocky about everything. And that realisation only just hit him. He needed to get his act together. He wasn't planning on staying at this school for long. But he thought he was slowly starting to understand why Robin was so insistent on him focusing on school.

Anne parked the car and they sat, stunned in silence for a moment, taking in the gorgeous scenery.

“Well, this is definitely something.” she finally said, turning off the ignition and unbuckling her seatbelt “Come on, let’s find the sleeping quarters.”

Harry and Anne grabbed a couple of smaller bags and headed towards the largest building and, luckily, there was a map outside pointing them in the right direction. They entered what seemed to be the main entrance.

“The Headmaster told me in the e-mail that you need to find the administration first. Get your key, schedule, the whole lot. So let’s do that.”

Harry nodded and followed Anne into the building. The office wasn't hard to find. It was situated right by the entrance, at the start of a long corridor which, Harry assumed, lead towards the classrooms.

“Hello, Harry Edward Styles. I’m here to pick up my key,” Harry said as they entered a small room with a desk, a computer and some filing cabinets. There was a lady in her mid-fifties sitting at the desk, typing away on the computer. Her face was framed with glasses that looked like they hadn't been updated for a couple of decades. Her hair was light brown, highlighted with some grey strands.

“Yes, Mr. Styles, we’ve been expecting you,” the administrator formally said, lifting her gaze from the screen and approached Harry and his mum.

Harry looked at his mother and they both stifled a little laugh. _What is this place?_

He was handed his plan, a room key, two sets of uniform, gym clothes and a list of rules he was supposed to memorise. Which, what the fuck? As if.

“You can pick your books up tomorrow morning. Have a good evening,” the lady said finally, resuming her position at the desk and typing away before Harry and Anne even begun to leave.

“Thanks, same to you,” Harry turned around, pulling his mother along by her arm and they headed to the dorms.

Harry realised it’s quite a walk, so Anne decided to go back to the car park and drive closer with the rest of his stuff.

Finally, Harry reached the dorm and read the information slip he was holding. His room was on the 3rd floor and there didn’t seem to be a lift anywhere, so Harry sighed and started stomping up the stairs. He walked down the long hallway, to the very end. There was a sock hanging on his door handle, which he frowned at slightly. _What?_ Either his roommate is a complete slob or someone’s pulled a prank. He turned the key with little effort and swung the door open, regretting it instantly.

There was a half naked skinny blonde kid on a bed in the middle of a heated make out session with a redhead, who covered herself up with a startled shriek.

“What the-, oi, dude, the _sock!_ “ he shouted and lobbed a heavy object at Harry.

“Shit!“ Harry yelped, jumping out of the room while shouting a flood of apologies. He slammed the door shut and heard a loud thud where the object he successfully managed to avoid hit the floor.

Harry leant back on the opposite wall, cursed under his breath and tilted his head back. He closed his eyes and laughed breathily.

His mum finally arrived then, slightly out of breath, carrying a box.

“Hey, why aren’t you going in?“ she wondered.

“Don’t recommend that right now, unless you want a book thrown at you. Let’s just carry the stuff here for now and whenever I’m allowed back in—if I ever am—I’ll just take them inside.”

******

After what seemed like forever, they’d taken the last box inside and were now standing next to the SUV in the parking lot.

“I guess that’s my cue…” Anne said, looking somewhere into the distance, past Harry.

“Oh, c’mere!“ Harry pulled his mother into his big arms and crushed her into his chest. “I’ll visit when I can, yeah?“ he placed a kiss on the top of her hair.

“Don’t forget to call me every once in a while, okay?” Anne looked up at Harry who was towering over her. She placed both hands on his face and rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs.

Harry smiled softly.

“Yes mum. Now drive, it’s going to get dark soon.”

They both sighed and Harry stepped aside when his mum climbed into the car, buckling the seatbelt and placing her hands on the wheel.

Harry shut her door and stepped back with a wave as he watched her start the car and drive off.

When he couldn’t see the car anymore, he turned to the dorms in hopes that his future roomie had finished whatever he was doing. Also hoping nobody’d stolen all his things.

******

When he reached his room, the sock was gone. So was his roomie.

Luckily his stuff was still there, untouched. He started dragging the boxes inside one by one, putting them by the only available bed.

Harry sighed and placed his hands on his hips, taking in his surroundings.   
The room was simple. Light walls, two desks, two single beds, a couple of cupboards, some shelves on the walls.

The roomie's side obviously more furnished. There were pictures and posters on the wall, books scattered on the desk, football gear haphazardly thrown on top of a duffel bag. Some more books were stacked on shelves and on the nightstand. He seemed a bit messy, but not enough to bother Harry. Maybe he was just a busy kid.

He decided to start with making his bed up and then proceeded to put some books on the shelves. He placed a framed photo of his family on his bedside table and stuck photos with his friends on a pin board that was hanging above the bed.

Harry figured the room was cosy enough for starters and felt like taking a break- deciding to look around the surroundings, shower and maybe get some dinner.

As he was about to leave the room, he crashed into someone. He was met with startled baby blue eyes.

“Oi, watch where you’re going, Curly!“ he exclaimed with a strong Irish accent.

“Um, sorry,” Harry apologised, taking in the kid’s features. His hair was dyed blonde on the top and styled messily, the sides chestnut brown, almost the same colour as Harry's own hair. His cheeks were rosy, like he'd just spent a good part of the evening running around outside and he had a friendly face.

“I’m Harry. Sorry about, um, before.”

“Niall. Don’t worry about it, mate. Sorry for throwing a book at you,” the booy, Niall, shrugged nonchalantly.

“’s okay. I’ll take note for the future,” Harry replied, running his fingers through his hair and turning to leave “See you around.”

Niall nodded and threw himself on the bed, switching a small TV screen on and grabbed a controller. _A TV?!_ Harry thought, just before shutting the door behind him. He hadn't even noticed that earlier.

******

Harry had about an hour and a half until the curfew, so he decided to take a quick walk around the campus before heading back to his bedroom.

The ocean wasn’t far from the dorms so after a short walk, Harry sat down on the beach, sinking into the soft sand and watched the waves as they crashed to the shore soothingly. Birds were flying around and diving in to catch some fish. The wind was so heavy, ocean breeze hitting his face and colouring his cheeks and the tip of his nose pink. His hair looked like a right mess, but Harry wasn't bothered. There was something so calming about the deep, dark water. In the sound of wind, waves and seagulls, the rustling of the beachgrass. The sky was slowly darkening as nighttime started to fall. Big clouds shifted across the sky, hiding the sun that was about to set. A few rays managed to break free though, casting some light in through the darkness.

After the sun had sunk into the horizon, Harry was about to get up and leave when his phone buzzed. Scott:

**_hey knobhead, just when were you planning to tell us you’re ditching us for some pretentious boarding school?_ **

Harry rolled his eyes and suppressed the hint of a smile at his mate's antics.

_between you being passed out drunk by the time I arrived at the party and me getting arrested? I dunno, you tell me._

Harry shoved his phone back in the front pocket of his skinny jeans and headed back towards the campus. His stomach was not so subtly making notice of the fact that he hadn’t eaten since this morning. His phone buzzed again.

_**i'd say i'm sorry, but i'm not. best. party. ever. i think i snogged two girls. simultaneously!!** _

Harry was about to enter his building, distractedly reading the message from Scott. He let out a startled cackle and covered his mouth. Just then, he felt his shoulder knock into someone trying to exit at the same instant through the doors. He was already typing a reply so, distractedly, he muttered a “Sorry, mate,“ without looking up or paying much attention.

“Get your head out of your ass!” they called back, just before the door fell shut in Harry's face.

Harry stopped in his tracks and turned around, dumbfounded, only to see the receding back of some guy in football gear.

“Yeah have a nice evening, too!” Harry called back, feeling something rebellious taking over.

Suddenly, the guy turned around and Harry was met with the most shocking shade of blue eyes he’d ever seen. They were like the ocean. More like a mix of blue and grey. And the were so cold and angry for a moment, before they met with Harry's. The boy faltered for a moment, instantly schooling his expression into something more apologetic. He fish-mouthed a couple of times, but before he managed to get any words out, Harry decided to keep walking.

Those eyes kept haunting him, though.   
The anger didn’t quite reach the depth of them. There was a kindness reflecting through the anger, too. Like he couldn’t actually be angry, even if he tried.   
Harry couldn't even remember what the guy looked like. Just the ocean blue eyes.

As Harry reached the community room, he realised that he’d been thinking about those eyes the whole way there, analysing them. He shook his head slightly, trying to shake the thoughts out of his mind.

There was a guy sitting at the dining table. He looked too old to be a student, so he was probably one of the mentors.

“Hey, I’m Ben. I'm your dorm mentor,” the guy stated like he’d been expecting Harry the whole time.

“Hi, I’m Harry. I’m new here. Which you're probably aware of,” Harry rolled his eyes, annoyed at himself for the stupid statement.

“Good to meet you. Guessing you’re hungry? Dinner hour’s over but I’m sure we can fix you something,” Ben said kindly, opening cabinets and getting stuff out of the fridge.

“Oh, I don’t want to cause any trouble. I can just make myself something.”

“Sit down Harry, it’s fine. I’m almost done,” Ben replied with a smile. He was making a sandwich and cutting up some fruits.

Harry sat awkwardly, checking his phone, but no messages.

Ben made some small talk while Harry ate and eventually he decided to head back to his room.

“Lights out soon. You’ll have time to shower or something if your like. Catch up soon,” Ben smiled.

“Thanks, man. Bye!” Harry replied, leaving.

******

Harry was extra careful before he entered his room. There was a lingering trauma from this afternoon he’d probably process for a really long time.

Niall was in the same position he was in more than 2 hours earlier. But he was also surrounded by a lot of junk food, empty packets scattered around him and an unfinished cheeseburger laying on his stomach on top of the wrapper.

“Back so soon?” he wondered, not taking his eyes off the screen and tapping the controller frantically.

“It’s been over two hours,” Harry stated simply, sitting down on the edge of his bed and dragging a box of clothes towards him.

“ _Has it?!_ Shit. I have an unfinished assignment for History. You any good at that?”

“I’ve known you all of five minutes and you want me to finish your history assignment so you can kill a few brain cells while playing that game?” Harry raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, but with a hint of teasing in his tone.

“Yeah, you’re the winner here,” Niall shrugged and grinned unabashedly.

“No thanks,” Harry deadpanned, hanging a few jackets in the wardrobe, “’m busy” he gestured towards the boxes and started filling his drawers with slow movements, just slightly reluctant with the amount of clothing left to unpack.

His phone was going off like crazy. He knew all his “friends” were checking up on him, but he really didn’t feel like explaining himself any more or reading another fake heartfelt message about how they’d be missing him.

Harry had a lot of friends and acquaintances but he still felt lonely in a crowd of people. Everybody loved him but he’d always felt like he didn’t quite belong. He’d always felt different. The girls were always chasing him but he was never interested. Never even looked at them twice. A lot of his friends had a really narrow view of life to say the least. He felt so trapped at parties. It was only the closest of his friends who knew the real him and they were very supportive.

“Hey Curly-“ Niall interrupted his thoughts.

“It’s Harry.”

“Fine. Harry. You wanna play?”

Since Harry had nothing better to do anyway, except procrastinate his unpacking task, he decided to squeeze himself next to Niall, pushing some empty wrappers aside.

“It stinks here,” he complained, looking at the blonde babyface who had the eyes of utter innocence. Like there was nothing in the world that could faze him.

“Welcome to Niall’s crib. Here’s the controller. There’s the mini-fridge if you ever fancy a snack or a beer. Feel free to help yourself,” Niall handed Harry a controller and motioned towards the corner of his side of the room.

And just like that, they started a game of FIFA and Harry found himself thinking he really likes this messy, carefree and chaotic ball of energy.

It was way past midnight and their lights out curfew when Niall finally was happy with the result of the game.

“Alright, let’s get to sleep,” he yawned without bothering to cover his mouth and stretched his long and scrawny limbs out.

Harry pushed himself off the bed and set an alarm on his phone. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed under the covers. The bed squeaked a little under his weight. He really missed his own bed. And home. His mum, his best friends. Even Robin.

Niall pushed all the rubbish off the bed and burped loudly, stretching again and getting into bed then.

“You’ll clean all that up, right?” Harry asked, looking at all the rubbish on the floor pointedly.

“Sure. In the morning,” Niall yawned once again, turning his back to Harry.

“G’night Niall.” Harry mumbled into the duvet.

“Sweet dreams, H.” Niall replied and within seconds, he was snoring.

**


	3. ~three~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i'm really sorry but since i'm not natively from the uk or the usa, i don't have a clue how the school system works nor do i have an idea how tryouts and stuff works so i'm going to go out on a limb here and hope for the best haha. please don't let that affect you, it is just fiction, after all. love you, thank you for your support! x

Harry woke up the following day with no motivation to go to class. He still didn’t have any books for his courses and he didn’t know if his uniform even fit him as he hadn't even tried it on previously.

He dragged himself out of bed and ran his fingers through the curly mess on would call hair, ruffling the fringe and pushing it back on one side. He got dressed and put a beanie on his head to cover the tangled mess. He just couldn't deal with it today.

Niall woke up eventually, after Harry repeatedly tried to drag him out. Harry waited for him to get ready so they could have breakfast together in the community room.

“What class you got first?” Niall asked, scoffing down his scrambled eggs with bacon like he’d been starved for weeks.

“Um, literature,” Harry replied, checking his schedule.

“Oh, sorry mate. I have P. E. I guess we're in different classes. Are you signing up for any extracurriculars?“

“I don’t think so,” Harry replied with a frown, jabbing his bacon on the plate. His stomach was twisting and turning uncomfortably and he was starting to feel nervous.

“Aren’t you going to eat that?” Niall asked hungrily. Harry shook his head, unable to speak. He was positive, if he opened his mouth, he might vomit.

“Okay, can I have it?“

Harry eyed him for a long moment, carefully taking a few sips of water.

“Where do you fit all that food?“

“Fast metabolism. Anyway, you should come check out the football practice. Tryouts are next week. I play and the captain’s a cool lad. He’s a year older than us.”

“Um, I kinda suck at football. Or any sports, for that matter. I was going to check out the drama club, to be honest.”

Niall yawned, “What a bore. Come see me at practice after school anyway.”

“Okay, fine," Harry finally agreed reluctantly. "But I won’t play,” he added, pointing a ringed finger at Niall. He had nothing better to do anyway, might as well.

They took their plates to the dishwasher, Harry scraping the remnants of his breakfast into the rubbish bin and they headed to the Chapel for assembly.

They were almost the last students to arrive, so they stood at the back by the wall. Almost everyone who passed Niall, knew him and greeted him or hovered around for a bit for a quick chat. It felt so strange for Harry to be this invisible, but it was refreshing. He didn’t miss it one bit. Niall seemed to be looking for someone the whole time but having no luck. The Chapel was really crowded.

**

“See you back here at lunch,” Niall told Harry after the assembly, rushing off to his class. He was already in gym clothes but he muttered something about having to warm up.

Harry took a deep breath and kicked himself mentally to pull himself together. 

After getting his books from the library, he headed to Literature. He gripped his books tightly to his chest and he was the last to enter the classroom, the door already closed. His entrance caused everyone in class to turn their attention to him. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“Um. Hi. I’m Harry Styles, ‘m new.”

The teacher greeted him with a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, Harry. Take a seat next to Eleanor.” She motioned towards a skinny brunette sitting by the window at the back of the class. 

Harry walked down the aisle, feeling the eyes of his classmates on him. He threw the books on the table and slumped into his chair unceremoniously.

“Hiya, I’m Eleanor,” the girl said with a soft voice. 

Harry gave her a half-hearted smile and opened his binder to take notes.

She kept texting annoyingly throughout the whole class, which was really distracting. Especially when she giggled at some responses.

The class was discussing Shakespeare sonnets, which is one of Harry's favourite subjects in English Literature, but it was really difficult to focus, his thoughts were all over the place. 

Finally, the bell rang.

“Wanna walk with me to our next class?” Eleanor asked kindly, waiting for Harry to pack up his stuff.

Harry nodded, but didn’t say a word while following her. She kept blabbering on about the school and the teachers and the students. In the five minutes they were walking, Harry got all the gossip. He also found out there’s some kid joining them for next class, who’d skipped the first class.

“Ah, Zayn!“ Eleanor suddenly squealed, hanging herself on to a black haired, extremely handsome guy with deep, honey brown, eyes. He eyed Harry curiously, but never said anything, never made a move to introduce himself.

“Zayn, this is Harry. We’re in class together. He’s new,” Eleanor introduced.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” Harry mumbled.

“Hey, what’s up?” Zayn replied. His voice was really soft and low, his words calculated. His eyes stayed curious and friendly.

He was mesmerising to look at, to say the least. His jet black hair looked like silk, carefully styled in a quiff and trimmed at the sides. His eyelashes were extremely long, curving up and brushing his cheekbones when he looked down. Harry had never seen someone so beautiful and he might have gawked a bit, without realising.

They entered the class together. Eleanor sat next to a girl, Zayn and Harry sat together across the aisle.

Harry felt a bit relieved since he didn’t think Zayn would be texting and distracting him all lesson. He was a nice companion, their silence was never awkward and Zayn liked to listen to the teacher while sketching, which was fine with Harry. He watched, stunned, as Zayn moved his hand across the paper effortlessly, forming complicated patterns which somehow ended up transforming into a beautiful picture.

They had a few more classes together and Harry actually started liking them both once they felt more comfortable around each other. The three of them seemed to balance each other out.

During lunch they parted ways since they were all in different houses and the weather wasn't nice enough to meet up outside and eat at one of the picnic tables.

Niall texted Harry to meet him outside and they went to the community room together.

“So, you make any new friends?” Niall wondered curiously.

“Yeah, Eleanor and Zayn.”

“No kidding? They’re cool. We’re all part of one group.”

“That’s a funny coincidence.” Harry replied.

They grabbed their lunch and sat down at the far corner where it was more quiet.

As soon as they sat down, Niall started animatedly telling Harry how they'd pranked the Headmaster. They got almost the entire class to participate.

"So, what, you just crowded the front office?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Yes. Oh my God," Niall threw his head back and let out the loudest, most unbothered, laugh ever. A few people stared at them. "Harry, you should have seen his face! So we all started gathering one by one, until there was like 25 of us crammed in that tiny front office. Miss Smith was fuming. I could almost literally see steam coming out of her ears."

"Who's Miss Smith?" Harry wondered, picking a his crisps now.

"Oh, the administrator. Anyway, the Headmaster returned from his meeting and started shouting at us all to get back to class. There were so many of us, he couldn't even be bothered to deal with a punishment. It was _so funny_." Niall cackled.

They finished the lunch together, Niall telling Harry more funny stories and pranks they'd pulled. It was fun and comfortable. Harry could feel himself growing easily attached to Niall's carefree nature. Even when he was loud sometimes, it never bothered him.

**

During the last class of the day, Niall texted Harry to meet him at the Chapel so they could go to practice together.

“What are you doing after school?” Eleanor asked Harry in whispers.

“Um, I’m sort of meeting up with my roomie. I’m going to watch his football practice.”

“Oh, can we go?” Eleanor asked excitedly.

Harry and Zayn exchanged a look, Zayn shrugged indifferently.

“Zayn, let’s go, please.” Eleanor begged, tugging at Zayn’s blazer sleeve.

“Fine, whatever.” Zayn replied.

“Great, I’ll text Gigi.”

Zayn’s eyes shot up for a moment and then he looked back down quickly.   
Harry nudged him slightly with a questioning look but Zayn just shook his head slowly.

Harry wasn’t one to gossip, but he was a little curious. He couldn’t wait to ask Niall about it.

Harry realised he had no idea what was going on in class, so he tried to focus on French for the remaining 10 minutes of the hour.

**

When the final bell rang, they rushed towards the Chapel. Harry spotted Niall leaning on the wall, talking to another skinny girl, this one with blonde hair, though. _Are all the girls models in this school?_ Harry caught himself thinking.

He also felt Zayn’s step falter for a quick moment when he noticed Niall and the girl. Harry realised that must be Gigi. She was beautiful but looked fierce, with piercing gray eyes. Whereas Eleanor in comparison looked soft with brown eyes and friendly features.

Niall had taken his uniform blazer off, loosened his tie and his sleeves were rolled up, blouse hanging over his trousers. Gigi’s uniform skirt looked way shorter than was acceptable but it didn’t look like she was very bothered about that.

Harry loosened his tie and undid a couple of buttons.

“Harry, meet Gigi.” Niall introduced, waving his hand out to the blonde.

Gigi waved at all of them and hugged Eleanor.

“Hey babes, missed you.” Eleanor chimed, kissing the girl’s cheek.

Gigi stepped forward to give Zayn a hug and then she turned to Harry and hugged him as well.

“Hey, handsome,” she said with an American accent. Harry wasn’t sure who that was directed at but judging by Zayn’s look, she'd meant Harry, who instantly felt his cheeks flush pink. He quickly turned away towards Niall.

“Shall we?”

“Excited, are we?” Niall teased.

Harry rolled his eyes and started walking.

“Wrong way, darling.” Niall sing-songed and laughed.

Harry turned around on his heels and blushed again. _God, get a grip._ He thought to himself.

“Cheer tryouts are starting next week the same time as footy tryouts.” Niall stated, making casual conversation. “You girls should apply. So you can cheer for Louis.” Niall teased.

Eleanor seemed to get way too excited whereas Gigi remained indifferent.

“Sure, I can apply. Will they be practicing today?” she asked Niall.

“Yeah, all week.”

“Oooh I wanna do it.” Eleanor said excitedly.

“Who’s Louis?“ Harry wondered, confused.

“Only the hottest football captain _ever._ ” Eleanor cooed. Since nobody was joining in, she kept going on, missing no details about him. Harry tuned her out.

“You guys should probably change then, if you’re going to practice for the tryouts.” Niall interrupted her gushing.

Gigi and Eleanor rushed to their dorms, Niall headed to the changing rooms and Zayn guided Harry towards the bleachers by the football field.

They sat down and Zayn lit a cigarette as soon as his bum touched the bench. He fished a notebook out of his bag and started drawing.

“Those are amazing.” Harry said, admiring the artwork.

Zayn took a deep drag.   
“You think?“ he asked, doubtful, blowing out the smoke.

“Yeah, like, _really_ cool. Do you publish your work anywhere?”

“Not really, just the school paper. I design stuff for that.”

“You’re really talented.” Harry said, getting out his books to start on homework.

He was about to get on with it when he heard the whistle blow, causing him to look up at the field. A bunch of lads were warming up. Harry spotted Niall right away with his blonde, scruffy hair.

It was his warm up partner, who caught Harry’s attention more, though. The guy was one of the shortest of the team, but he was by far the best at ball possession. He ran around the field with swift movements, switching legs effortlessly, all the while keeping the ball rolling. Niall tried to steal the ball from him a couple of times but failed, the other boy going for the goal and scoring with a flawless kick. Harry watched his movements in awe. He couldn’t help but notice the boy’s beautiful features either. His sharp jawline and cheekbones, his soft caramel hair pushed back with a headband. The way his muscles moved…

Harry realised he’d been staring with his mouth open when he dropped one of the books he’d been balancing on his knees.

Holy _shit_. Who the hell _is_ that guy?

Throughout the whole practice, he couldn’t manage to do one bit of his homework. He just watched the guy, mesmerised.

Zayn tried to get his attention quite a few times until eventually he gave up and continued his doodling, while Harry pretended to be into the game, not one certain player.

After practice Gigi and Eleanor ran to the bleachers.

“Hey, how did practice go?” Harry wondered.

“Eleanor, the idiot, nearly dropped me- because she couldn’t stop staring at Louis Tomlinson the entire time.” Gigi huffed, running her delicate fingers through her golden tresses.

“Oh, you two have something in common then.” Zayn said with an amused expression, waving a finger between Harry and Eleanor and lighting another cigarette.

Harry snapped his head around, mortified.

“Yeah, you think I didn’t notice how you pretty much drooled all over your books all the while ignoring everything I said?“ Zayn mused, taking a long drag with hollowed cheeks and puffing out a big cloud of grey smoke.

Harry wanted to die. Right there.   
“That obvious, huh?” he asked, discomfort still evident in his features.

Zayn looked at him, grinning like a bloody Cheshire cat.

“Hey, back off, he’s mine, alright?” Eleanor said, pointing a skinny finger at Harry's chest.

“Yeah, in your dreams, maybe. He’s so not into you, honey.” Gigi retorted, rolling her eyes.

“Maybe he just needs some time.” Eleanor said, averting her gaze.

“How naïve are you? It’s been a year and he’s still not into you. It's embarrassing at this point.” Gigi rolled her eyes exasperated and grabbed the rest of Zayn's cigarette, finishing it.

Eleanor looked down with a sad look.

“Hey. I’m only saying this for your own good.” Gigi noted gently, nudging her.

“So, you’re into boys, then?” Eleanor asked, changing the subject completely, looking at Harry pointedly.

He was taken aback “Um. I dunno. I mean, I’ve never… I haven’t really-“

“Hey lads and gals!“ someone’s raspy, but melodic voice chimed behind Harry.

He turned around. There he was. Louis. Louis Tomlinson. And Niall right behind him.

As Harry’s eyes met with Louis’, he realised straight away it’s the same guy he’d bumped into at the door. The same ocean blue eyes. All Harry could do was stare. He was so lost. It was like he’d seen the most beautiful human being, ever.

Zayn cleared his throat.

Harry snapped back to reality and realised Louis was holding his hand out. Harry shook it quickly, muttering his name.

"What do you say, shall we get changed and skip study time?“ Louis suggested, turning towards the group.

"And what do you suggest we do instead?“ Niall wondered, already down to whatever Louis was about to suggest. Because, studying? Yeah, not Niall's thing.

"I'll call Liam, we can separate into two cars and drive to Blackpool."

"Okay let's meet at the parking lot in 15 minutes." Niall rushed, already dragging Harry towards their dorms by his hand.

**

Niall was ready, waiting at the door while Harry still stood in front of his wardrobe, wearing only boxers, socks and a beanie.

"You're not going on a date. Just wear some trackies or something. Let's gooo." Niall urged impatiently, stomping his foot like a child.

Harry sighed in frustration. He decided to wear chucks, black skinny jeans, a rolling stones t-shirt and a checkered shirt over it.

"You'll get hypothermia. Stop being pretty. We live in the UK, it'll probably rain at some point of the night."

"Okay, yes mother. I'm almost done." Harry said, grabbing a coat and shoving his phone in his pocket.

As soon as Harry was ready, Niall just bolted. Harry cussed under his breath and started running after him.

"I call shotgun!" Niall yelled as soon as they reached the parking lot. Harry followed right behind just cause he wanted to be in the same car with Niall.

It seemed like the group at the parking lot separated into two smaller groups, both darting in different directions.

Zayn and Gigi ran behind a well built guy towards a black car. Harry couldn't see more, cause he was too busy trying to not fall over his own uncoordinated legs.

Niall and Eleanor were running behind Louis towards a red car.

Of course Harry would end up in Louis' car.

Niall darted past Eleanor and managed to touch the passenger's side just seconds before her.

"Ha! I win, in your face! Enjoy the backseat."

Eleanor huffed and took a seat behind the driver's seat, crossing her arms at her chest and pouting. Harry climbed into the small car, sitting behind Niall. His long legs were bent at the knees, touching the back of Niall's seat.

"Oi, scoot over." Harry complained, nudging Niall's back with his knees.

"Hey, not my fault this car is made for small people only." Niall said, moving the chair forward just a little.

"You can always go and sit at the back of Liam's car." Louis said, shooting a glare in Niall's direction.

"Never mind, this car's great. Can I use the aux?"

"God no," Louis grimaced and connected his own phone with the aux.

Eleanor giggled at their interaction while Harry just admired Louis up close.

Louis was wearing a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up a little, black skinny jeans and old-school vans. His skin was flawlessly smooth and tan, his eyelashes so long they were almost touching his cheekbones. There was a hint of stubble on his face. His arms were strong and there was a buck and heart tattoo on his right biceps. His caramel brown hair was styled into a careful mess.

"Harry..." Eleanor whispered. "You're gawking. Stop it." She shook her head in disbelief.

Harry's face turned crimson. He shot a quick glance in the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting Louis' eyes, making him blush even more and he turned his head away. He looked outside his window for the rest of the ride, admiring the beautiful landscape instead, too afraid to meet Louis' eyes again.

**

It wasn't a long ride to Blackpool. Louis pulled into the parking lot of a pub and parked the car. They all got out, waiting for the others to get there. Eleanor sent Gigi the location.

Louis leaned against the hood of his car and lit a cigarette.   
"So, Harry. You came to the practice today." he said, taking a deep drag and blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah Harry here couldn't get his eyes off the field." Eleanor chimed excitedly.

Harry looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh, you enjoyed the game, did you?" Louis said, smiling smugly.

"Um, I'm not really a big fan of football but, um-"

Harry was cut off by tires screeching on the gravel, once again he was saved out of an awkward situation.

Zayn, Gigi and Liam got out of the car, slamming the doors shut in unison. Harry got a chance to get a proper look at Liam.

He was wearing a snapback, a football jersey and light ripped jeans. His fair hair was gelled into a spiky quiff. The sleeves of the jersey were rolled up, exposing toned muscles. He smiled, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners and a little dimple forming just on top of one of his cheekbones.

Liam shook hands with Louis and hugged Eleanor.   
"Hey man, you must be Harry." He turned, reaching out his hand.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." Harry replied, accepting Liam's strong hand squeeze.

He grimaced a little when Liam wasn't looking, waving his hand in the air, earning a snort and a giggle from Louis.

Harry looked at Louis, who had the cutest smile on his face, which he then proceeded to cover up with his hand and laughed even more. His eyes crinkled at the corners and it was adorable, really.

Harry's cheeks flushed red and he had to turn his head away from Louis. He was so ashamed and confused.

Why did he feel like a pubescent girl around Louis? He was making Harry feel things he'd never felt before.

"Hey, I'm starving, can we go?" Niall interrupted Harry's train of thought, dragging him along with the rest.

**

For a Monday night, the pub was pretty crowded. There was a rugby game on and some passionate middle aged men with bulging beer bellies were cheering along to their favourite team, who seemed to be in the lead for the moment. It was really loud. Glasses clinking, people chatting and laughing, men shouting. Just a typical pub night.   
A bunch of men in suits were circled around a few girls who looked a little to young for the scene.

Zayn and Liam were leading the way and they walked to the back of the pub to a quiet booth that fit all of them. Just barely, though.

Harry got squished in between Niall and Louis. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Across the table from him were Zayn, Gigi and Eleanor. Liam grabbed a chair and sat at the end of the table. 

A sultry waitress approached their table. She was wearing a black dress that left very little room for imagination.

 _I guess you gotta earn your tip some way._ Harry caught himself thinking, looking away from her and shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Niall on the other hand...

"Hi love, you got any specials on?" she had Niall's full attention. Harry nudged Niall in the ribs, causing Niall to cringe away from Harry and pushing him into Louis' side even more.

Harry was trying to focus on Niall and the waitress, but all he could feel was Louis radiating next to him like a space heater.

"We sure do." She replied happily.

"Alright, we'll all have one of those." Niall said.   
The girls complained a little, but settled after a moment.

It was impossible to have a conversation, because the rugby fans had taken up a tune and were singing it on top of their lungs, arms around each other's necks, jumping up and down, beer sloshing everywhere around them. Their team had won.

The waitress returned with their beers, leaning demonstratively across the table to hand Niall and Zayn their pints.

Louis groaned loudly next to Harry and rolled his eyes.   
"Come on, love, cover yourself up," he muttered.

The waitress didn't hear him, but Harry did and smiled at Louis timidly.

"I'll be back in a jiffy with your food," the waitress chirped, prancing off towards the kitchen.

"Ugh, she's so extra," Eleanor said, rolling her eyes. "Niall, stop being desperate. It's disgusting."

"You'd have done the same!" Niall argued.

After the food arrived, the waitress finally left them to be and Niall focused his energy on eating.

They'd been sitting and talking for a little while when suddenly Harry felt something bump his leg. He realised it was Eleanor's leg, touching him under the table. It happened way too often to be an accident.

"Eleanor... what are you doing?!" Harry burst suddenly, annoyed. Eleanor froze, mortified.

They both now had everyone's full attention. Louis looked at Harry, intrigued.

"Sorry, I'm just sensitive." Harry muttered, quietly, cheeks turning pink.

"Anyway, shall we head to the cinema then?" Liam offered, clapping his hands together and downing the last of his beer.

Harry gladly stood up from the table. Eleanor seemed just as relieved.

"What movie is on anyway?" Zayn wondered.

"A rerun of the Notebook." Liam replied.

Niall groaned. "No way."

"You can just take a nap like you always do." Gigi said playfully, nudging Niall.

Harry was glad it wasn't a thriller. The Notebook was actually one of his favourites.

The cinema wasn't too far from the pub, they decided to walk.

As the sun was setting, it was starting to get chilly. The air was humid, making their breath come out in puffs of smoke.

Harry shivered and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. He begrudgingly admitted to himself that Niall was right and he was glad he'd bought it with him.

He stepped back a little so Eleanor could keep up with him.   
"Hey, um, I'm really sorry about before. I wasn't thinking." Harry said slowly.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Thanks for not saying anything." Eleanor said awkwardly.

"It's the least I could do. Just, maybe don't rub someone's leg next time. Honestly, it was a bit weird and even if you'd done it to Louis, I think you wouldn't have heard the end of it."

They laughed together.

"Yeah. Maybe I should try a more direct approach next time." Eleanor said, looking down and moving a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah." Harry said. Although he didn't think Louis was interested at all in her. He hadn't looked at her pretty much all night, interacting more with the boys. Not even a single side glance.

"Hey lovebirds, you coming??" Louis called back.

Harry and Eleanor looked at each other and walked faster to catch up.

**

Somehow Harry ended up next to Louis again. But this time Louis had followed him.

Eleanor sat herself next to them as well. Probably hoping to be closer to Louis, but he was actually leaning away from her-- angling more towards Harry, their arms touching slightly on the armrest. Harry's skin was tingling and Louis was so warm.

"Do you want to share popcorn?" Louis asked softly.

"Me?" Harry wondered, shocked.

"Well... do you see anyone else here?"

"Sure, I'll share popcorn with you." Harry replied, a little breathless.

The movie then started. Harry had seen it before but something hits different when you're sitting in a dark room with a huge screen and high definition sound.

**

By the end, Harry realised he'd started crying. He sniffled quietly and wiped tears from his eyes.

"Are you crying?" Louis whispered. "Don't worry, I wouldn't tell anyone. You softie." He smiled brightly, wiped a tear from Harry's cheek and Harry thought he might just pass out.

When the movie was over, Harry was so sure Louis would be giving him a hard time in front of the others. But on the way to the car he opted on teasing Eleanor instead, which she seemed to be enjoying thoroughly. The poor girl was so desperate for any attention that she'd probably happily take a bullet for Louis if somebody asked her to.

It was way past their curfew when they got back on school grounds. Harry was sure his parents were already notified and he'd be getting a bollocking from Robin in the morning. He was chewing on his lip nervously as they were approaching the dorms.

"What's up?" Louis asked, catching up with Harry. "You look like you're about to shit yourself."

"Just don't wanna be told off, is all. I'm in enough trouble with my parents as it is." Harry said, kicking a stray pebble.

"Ooh so you're a bad boy, are you?" Louis teased.

"Yeah, I guess, if you didn't bother getting to know me."

"Okay. Let me find out then. Come to the practice tomorrow." Louis replied so smoothly that Harry found himself agreeing, although he was well aware of the fact that he sucked at football and couldn't even walk straight without tripping over his own two feet.

They'd reached the dorms. Harry realised that Louis was still with him and Niall while the rest had parted ways.

"Isn't your dorm in the other house?" Harry said and suddenly stopped walking as he saw his mentor, Ben, at the door.

"There you are. I was worried sick!"

"Shh, let me do the talking," Louis whispered, putting a hand on Harry's chest. Niall stayed back, looking like he was already used to the routine.

"Hey Ben!" Louis greeted cheerfully, "We're so sorry," Louis put his hands together in apology "we thought we'd give Harry here a little tour around Blackpool since he's just arrived and we wanted him to feel welcome. But then me car died on the way back. You know, it sometimes acts up when it's humid outside. So we had to wait for the battery to charge by the road."

Louis apology sounded so sincere that even Harry fell for it for a moment.

"Alright. But next time I'm notifying your parents!" Ben warned, pointing a finger at Harry "Get to bed. And you, go to your dorm, Tomlinson."

"Will do, sir. Won't happen again." Louis muttered "Well, good night, Harry Styles. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow," he said when Ben had turned around and left.

"Don't I get a good night's kiss?" Niall asked, pouting his lips.

"I'll see you at practice tomorrow, on time, not flirting with the cheers." Louis called over his shoulder, waving his hand recklessly.

**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments and kudos are appreciated. xx

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. all comments and kudos are very much appreciated as it motivates me to write. 
> 
> all the love,
> 
> -t. xx


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